Buckle Up...Be Safe!

Additional Car Seat and Car Safety Considerations

• Bring your baby home from the hospital in a car seat. Children who are used to the restraints are less likely to fight them.

• Be consistent in using your car seat. If your child fusses, pull over to the side of the road to quiet the child. However, present the issue as one where the child has no choice. And, use your own seat belt to set a good example.

• Point out to children that by sitting elevated in a car or booster seat they will be able to see more out the car window.

• Car rental agencies in California must provide safety seats for rent by customers on request. You might still want to bring along your own seat if you are sure it can be used in the type of car you will rent.

• Never hold a child of any age on your lap – even for a short ride. Doing so increases the chance the child will be injured in a crash. And, buckling a seat belt over a child held in your lap does not lessen the danger of injury. Each person should ride with his or her own seat belt.

For Child Care Providers And Car Pool Drivers

The law applies to you, too. You can be fined up to $270 for transporting someone else’s child without a car or booster seat. • Decide whether your program will provide the safety seats for field trips and carpools or whether you will ask parents to supply car seats. Given the wide variety of vehicles and safety seats, not all safety seats fit well in all vehicles. Be sure to install the safety seats properly in your vehicle.

• Additional seat belts can be installed for use with car seats or for children over 60 pounds.

• Child care licensees are required to post a Child Car Seat Law poster to alert parents of the current car seat law. Providers can obtain a copy of the sign at BANANAS. The one-page poster can also be downloaded from the web by visiting the "Safely on the Move in Child Care" website (www.safelyonthemove.sdsu.edu.) Or call toll-free (866) 700- 7686 for a poster or additional information.

Children Who Need Special Car Seats

There are a number of car seats designed for use with premature infants and children with physical or neurological disabilities. A few, such as the seats made by Columbia Medical Manufacturing (800)454-6612 and Tumble Forms (800) 631-7277 fit stroller frames for double duty.

Want To Know More?

www.ConsumerReports.org
Babies & Kids, Safest Car Seats
Provides information, ratings and recommendations on car seats and booster seats, as well as tips on how to install them properly.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Auto Safety Hotline (800) 424-9393
400 Seventh Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590
Call or go to www.nhtsa.gov for information on car seat recalls. You can also request car seat handouts, including a “Shopping Guide for Child and Infant Safety Seats." The guide lists the manufacturers, models and price ranges of car seats which currently meet federal requirements.

As of January 2002, California law requires that children ride properly secured in a child safety seat or booster seat until the
child is at least six years old or weighs 60 pounds.

The law applies to: